Cleveland bets on housing to revive East Side
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Some of Cleveland's most historically disinvested neighborhoods are getting a boost.
Driving the news: Cleveland City Council last week approved Mayor Justin Bibb's Housing Innovation District, a plan to combine zoning reform, tax incentives and new construction in East Side communities shaped by redlining and scarred by the housing crisis.
Zoom in: The district would waive permit fees for new single-family homes and institute "form-based code" to encourage walkable neighborhoods and mixed-use development.
- It would also create a tax increment financing district to fund infrastructure improvements.
- While council approved much of the plan, the TIF legislation is still being ironed out.
What they're saying: "The Housing Innovation District is not just a housing policy," Bibb wrote in a Substack article last week.
- "It is a neighborhood-focused strategy designed to modernize how city government supports growth, reduces barriers to development, and ensures residents benefit from the investment happening around them."
By the numbers: The city plans to invest $750,000 toward the construction of 20 new homes on city-owned vacant lots on East 65th and East 67th streets, while also funding repairs for existing homeowners and storefront improvements nearby.
Friction point: Some residents have voiced concerns that new investment could eventually lead to displacement.
- City officials have noted that with more than 2,800 vacant lots in the district, there is ample room for growth without forcing anyone out.
The big picture: The Housing Innovation District is the latest in Bibb's housing agenda, which garnered headlines through his first term.
- The district sits near the proposed Midline corridor, where Bibb hopes housing growth and job creation will reinforce one another.
What's next: The city hopes to begin construction on some of the new homes as early as this summer.